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Topic: Homemade Pepperoni (Read 17706 times)

I see people discussing their pepperoni recipe and some very nice pictures but no recipes posted. Does anyone know of a recipe posted for pepperoni, I have had no luck with the search function. I started making my own Chorizo as I was sick of the greasy slop on sale in stores. I would like to try my hand and pepperoni as well.

Pepperoni is a dry-cured product, an order of magnitude more challenging than Mexican-style chorizo, a fresh sausage. Pepperoni and similar meats involve curing for a fairly long time in carefully controlled temperatures and humidities. The process can be unforgiving of fairly small errors. The method I use is from the book by the late Rutek Kutas, Great Sausage Recipes and Meat Curing.

Bill do you think that you could get the same flavor of pepperoni by doing a fresh sausage version rather then a cured version? I know that the texture would be different between the two.

No. In addition to serving as a means of preserving, dry-curing creates unique textures and flavors. A fresh sausage version could be good, but not the same. There are additives used to emulate or accelerate the process, but I don't think I've ever tried them.

I just finished curing peperone using the Ruhlman & Polcyn, Charcuterie recipe. It is all lean beef, which I thought would be a disaster, but is perfect for pizza because there is no extra rendered grease on the pie. It came out fantastic, and is delicious. Here is a picture of the links when I first hung them in my curing chamber.

Pepperoni is not usually a dry cured product in the USA. Most of the pepperoni you buy in this country is actually a cooked product. Not to take anything away from dry cured, its a beautiful thing and mother sausage of pepperoni but...its easier to slow cook. Check out this recipe that I plan to make this week:

I make a lot of products like this but cook them more simply. I make all sorts of sausages and lunch meats In fact I made this week, a cooked 3 lb Capicola, 4 lbs of fresh Italian sausage (in a bulk log cut into 4 to 6 ounce pieces for pizza) and 3 pounds of fresh Southern breakfast sausage for my breakfast. The pepperoni recipe outlined above is no more difficult.

Where I would diverge from the recipe given would be to cook the pepperoni in a sealed vacuum bag in a water bath for about 1 1/2 to 2 hours at 160 deg. F. (easier to do than it sounds without anything more than a thermometer and a big pot). As to cooking under vacuum (called sous vide) it is safe. Particularly since this recipe is cured with Cure #1 (Prague powder). The pepperoni will probably not need the boiling water dip but you could if casings are not adhered well. If cooled quickly and left in the vacuum bag it will keep a long time under refrigeration and freeze exceedingly well.

If Interested, I can photograph and detail my preparation of this when I do it later in the week. I've been making sausage for almost 20 years and its really very easy. A smoke house is not necessary but a small smoker is really nice, just to smoke and finish cooking as outlined above in a water bath.

The peperone spent about one month curing. They came out great, if a little over-cured. They work best on pizza, but as antipasto they are a little, not dry, but kinda rubbery. Sliced super thin on a deli slicer, and then vacuum packed they mellow out. Next time I will either do a shorter cure or use a larger diameter casing. The flavor is great.

Consider adding at least 50% pork to the recipe. Beef dries and cures hard and the fat cures hard too. I would expect an all beef pepperoni to be hard and dry even if it was cooked. I use beef to adjust firmness in cured recipes, never by itself.

If you want to make dry cured products, the book...The Art of Making Fermented Sausages by Stanley and Adam Marianski will be far more approachable than any other text on the subject. However, dry cured sausage is not for the beginner. Its the highest form preserved meat and requires commercial bacteria cultures, at least 2% salt, specialized cure and controlled drying conditions of temperature an humidity. You can make yourself sick with these products if not done properly.

Most products you are familiar with, lunch meats, pepperoni, summer sausage, etc. are cooked either in a temperature controlled smoker/oven or in a water bath or in a steam bath. The temperature, regardless of method, is maintained below the melting point of fat but high enough to cook the product and sanitize it. Generally you want to keep the cooking temperature at or below 165 F and cook to an internal temperature of 155 F, cooked and sanitized but fat still intact.

There are may crazy recipes for sausage and cooked meat products around, some try to lower salt (dangerous), others try to avoid nitrates (suicidal). Choose a simple smoked sausage recipe to start learning with, like cooked kielbasa. Once that is mastered, the whole world of meats opens up.

The best general introduction to meat products is... Great Sausage Recipes and Meat Curing by Rytek Kutas. Its available for about $18 from Amazon and is the best place to start.

Thank you Meatballs, very interesting link. Do you make your own (is that in the picture), if so, would you like to sell me some? I've made my own sausage, so I guess I could give this a shot. Do you have a good source for the seasonings?

Hi MeatballI am interested in doing my own pepperoni and was particularly interested in your sous vide preparation. I am all set with the sous vide equipment but have never stuffed a sausage casing. I would be very interested in your pictures and any further explanation of procedures.

Hi GangI did a little more research and found that the Morton Tender Quick can be used for a pretty easy recipe found on their website at (WWW) mortonsalt.com/recipes/RecipeDetailPF.aspx?RID=46Since I have almost all of the ingredients listed I think this will be my first attempt.

DirectionsCombine all ingredients, mixing until thoroughly blended. Divide mixture in half. Shape each half into slender roll about 1-1/2 inch in diameter. Wrap in plastic or foil. Refrigerate overnight. Unwrap rolls and place on broiler pan.Bake at 325°F until a meat thermometer inserted in the center of a roll reads 160°F, 50 to 60 minutes. Store wrapped in refrigerator. Use within 3 to 5 days or freeze for later use. If Morton Meat Curing products are not available at your local grocery store, the products can be ordered throught the Morton Salt online store.

John

I don't like the idea of baking this at 325 degrees, so I may try some lower and slower method to get to internal 160 degrees F.